Winter Sun in the Cold, Hard North

Today was one of those glorious days when nature gets everything right. January 23rd and we had our first lunch of the year in the garden. I don’t think we’ve ever eaten out so early without a campfire! Who’d have thought it in the north of England? It seems I seriously misjudged the climate up here; it’s nowhere near as cold as expected. Yet.

Check out Fidgie’s tongue..

Winter Seed Planting

Sunny, bright but still pretty cold, we headed to the garden to plant some seeds; Norway Spruce from a midwinter Solstice party, Red Oak acorns from our Christmas visit to Alnwick Gardens plus rosehip and Cotoneaster seeds foraged in December. As we home educate, we get to make the most of great weather whenever it happens, which we certainly did today.

Biodynamic Rhythms Calendar

It was a Root and Leaf day in Biodynamic Gardening (an extension of organic gardening involving the cycles of the sun and moon to ascertain the best time for planting, harvesting, pruning etc dependent on the plants being grown) – there are particular days for root growth, seeds, fruit and leaves.

I dabble in biodynamics when planting new things. Lots of research has been done in the field though I can’t explain the science personally! Check out an online Biodynamic Gardening Calendar for the best time to get garden jobs done. I may post on this in future.

It was so refreshing out that Caroline decided to ‘tidy’ the garden after planting the seeds (why doesn’t that happen in the house?!) I heated soup and we ate out in glorious sunshine.

I saw a Mouse…

A cheeky Wood Mouse joined us, intent on stealing sunflower seeds we’d put out for the birds. In fact, we discovered the mouse is a squatter in what was intended to be the hedgehog’s home!

It obviously didn’t matter to her that the roof had collapsed. The straw inside was still perfectly dry and full of cherry stone shells when I checked for hedgehogs.

All I can say is “Hello Spring!” and thanks Mother Nature for a sunny, January surprise.

2018 Update – sadly we didn’t get to see these germinate as Caroline’s cancer was diagnosed just weeks after this post and the garden neglected for much of last year. For more gardening articles see Gardening.

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Published by Kids of the Wild

Lucy has a lifelong passion for nature & the transforming benefits of getting outside, especially since her daughter's cancer diagnosis in 2017. She loves walking, travelling & exploring with her family, dog & camper van. She helped rescue 28 swans & set up a Forest School in 2002 & cries every time she sees a whale in the wild! Lucy aims to inspire families to connect with nature & love the great outdoors
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23 thoughts on “Winter Sun in the Cold, Hard North”

How lucky were you to get warm enough weather to eat outside, I’m in the North of England too but absolutely frozen! I love your mouse visitor and wish I could plant things but I normally kill things so admire anyone with nice gardens. #CountryKids

This looks like a lovely way to spend the day, we often eat outside in the summer but rarely brave it in the winter either. Learning the science behind planting and growing different plants sounds like the perfect way to spend time in the fresh air. Soup was the best choice for a chilly Al Fresco lunch, I bet you can’t wait to get out in the garden again!

Wow it sounds like you made the best of a beautiful day! We tend to get outside as soon as the weather allows (we live in Ireland), but we’re pretty much limited to the weekends… Home ed sure is the way to go 😉
#countrykids

I have not heard of biodynamics before, which makes me think I probably should have done. We have been growing our own for several years sometimes it goes really well. Other times it doesn’t! I know there are a lot of factors but I may read up on this. Thanks for the inspiration. Stopping by from #CountryKids.

Glad you’re thinking biodynamics! It’s definitely worth the research though it can be a little daunting and you need the charts and calendars to check, but I do notice different results when I garden that way. It’s also to do with organics and soil quality etc too. Good luck!

What a wonderful way to spend the day! And, how lovely to be able to eat outside. We haven’t managed that yet, but then we have had quite a bit of snow 🙂 Although, the weather has been New-England-crazy and it probably has been warm enough some days! #countrykids

I have never heard if biodynamic gardening so this link is really interesting reading. Thank you Lucy for linking this post and for introducing me to something new. I will be posting a round up post soon. See you May. #MyGloriousGardens